Competence in Health and Safety should be seen as an important component of workplace activities, not an add-on or afterthought.  It is the combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge that a person has, and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely. Other factors, such as attitude and physical ability, can also affect someone’s competence.

As an employer, you should take account of the competence of relevant employees when you are conducting your risk assessments, as well as suppliers, when purchasing costly equipment. This will help you decide what level of information, instruction, training and supervision you need to provide.

If you use contractors, you have a legal responsibility to make sure they are competent.

HSE releases annual injury and ill-health statistics for Great Britain.  https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/index.htm In the 2019/2020 period there were;

111 fatal injuries at work693,000 workers sustained non-fatal injuries1.6 million working people suffering from a work-related illness38.8 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injuryMore than half of Britain’s working days lost in 2019/20 were due to mental ill-health.325 cases were prosecuted and resulted in a conviction. Fines from convictions totalled £35.8 million

The REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 Statutory Instrument (SI) was laid before Parliament on 16th October.  The amended should be in force before  IP completion day.

This instrument will:

Help to ensure the UK meets its obligations under the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland and provide for access by Northern Irish goods to the Great Britain market.Extend transitional provisions for importers of substances from EU based registrants by a further 120 days. These importers now have 300 days from 1 January 2021 to provide UK authorities with some initial information as part of a Downstream User Import Notification (DUINs).Introduce a new phased approach to UK REACH data submission. Companies will now have 2, 4 or 6 years beginning after those 300 days for full registrations to be completed. These deadlines are dependent on tonnage bands and hazard profile, with the highest tonnage and most hazardous chemicals first.